Adani Green Denies Bribery Allegations Amid Fraud Charges

On November 27, Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) released an explanation, denying recent media reports that directors Vneet Jaain, Sagar Adani, and Gautam Adani—the group's billionaire founder—were being charged with bribery and corruption under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The company stated in an exchange statement that although they were charged with securities and wire fraud, they were not accused of bribery or international corruption.

"These kinds of claims are untrue. According to the US DOJ's indictment and the US SEC's civil action, Mr. Gautam Adani, Mr. Sagar Adani, and Mr. Vneet Jaain have not been accused of violating the FCPA," the business stated.
refers to the Securities and Exchange Commission, an American regulatory body, and the Department of Justice.
According to the criminal indictment, the directors are accused of three counts: alleged securities fraud conspiracy, alleged wire fraud conspiracy, and alleged securities fraud.

"These directors have been charged on three counts in the criminal indictment namely (i) alleged securities fraud conspiracy, (ii) alleged wire fraud conspiracy, and (iii) alleged securities fraud," the court document stated. In a separate filing, the business provided a few specifics about the lawsuit. It stated that the United States of America has filed a criminal indictment against Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani, Vneet S. Jaain, and other third-party people in the United States District Court Eastern District of New York.

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The business also disclosed that the Securities and Exchange Commission had filed a civil lawsuit against Mr. Gautam Adani and Mr. Sagar Adani in the United States District Court Eastern District of New York, with the case number being 1:24 Civ. 8080.

"Pursuant to this civil complaint, some of our directors namely Mr. Gautam S. Adani and Mr. Sagar R. Adani have been alleged (i) to have violated certain sections of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Act of 1934, and (ii) to have aided and abetted Adani Green Energy Limited’s violation of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Act of 1934," the filing with the exchange stated.

Rohatgi clarified that these are his personal opinions and that he is not an official spokesperson for the Adani Group. "Charge 1 and charge 5 are the more important ones, and in neither of them you will find the name Adani," he stated.

Adani and two other executives are not charged in Count 1 (found on Page 42 of the US DoJ's indictment), which the DoJ defines as "Conspiracy to violate FCPA" out of the five charges in the indictment. Ranjit Gupta, Rupesh Agarwal, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra, and Cyril Cabanes are the defendants in Count 1.

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Additionally, Adani and his executives have not been charged in Count 5, which the US Department of Justice describes as "Conspiracy to obstruct" and appears on Page 51 of the Indictment.

To Summarize

Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) has refuted media claims of bribery charges against its directors, including Gautam Adani, under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). In a statement, the company clarified that while the US DOJ and SEC have indicted Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, and Vneet Jaain on securities and wire fraud charges, they are not accused of international bribery or corruption. The lawsuits focus on alleged violations of the Securities Acts of 1933 and 1934, emphasizing corporate accountability.